Couple Loses Hundreds Of Pounds On Atkins Diet

wlky ^ | 11-04-03

[wheelgunguru]

Embarrassment, Health Issues Prompted Dieting

Many people have struggled to drop a few pounds, but what happens when you need to lose several hundred pounds?

Several years ago, Steve and Melissa Horstman of Boone County, Ky., decided that they didn't want to live with their weight problems anymore, and they used the emotional pain over being overweight to reach their goals.

Melissa and Steve met on the Internet several years ago and soon learned of their common bond: obesity.

"When you weigh 150 pounds over, you don't go out and socialize," Melissa said.

The couple met, dated and married, but humiliation struck again on their honeymoon when the airline pilot told Steve he would have to buy two seats next time because he was too big for one.

"It wasn't until after we got married that I saw on a daily basis how his weight was on his health," Melissa said. "I was afraid I'd just found him and we were just married, I was going to lose him."

Steve's weight topped out at 571 pounds. He recalls "just standing there in the winter and you're breaking a sweat just standing there because your back hurts and your knees hurt."

Despite the physical pain, Steve said the emotional toll on his health was greater.

"(It hurts) when you walk into a store and a 3-year-old looks up at their parent and says, 'Look at that fat man, Mommy,'" he said.

"It broke my heart every day," Melissa said. "I could see the people behind him. The looks, the whispers, the pointing."

Fad diets failed. Surgery was too expensive. So Melissa began looking into low-carb solutions like the Atkins diet.

Once the couple decided to try to the diet, major life changes were in order. First on the list: Eliminating the junk food that is tough to avoid for most people and irresistible to a 571-pound man.

"I could go to a certain drive-through and get eight sandwiches and four large fries, 10 to 12 cans of soft drinks a day, not the sugar-free kind," Steve said.

Steve weighed himself daily on a large scale in a local drugstore. The scale provided a printout, and Steve saved every one of them.

"At June 19, 1999, I was at 472 pounds," he said as he flipped through the printouts. "I'd lost about 100 pounds at that point."

Melissa dropped her weight, too, but for Steve, the diet was nothing short of a miracle. He was swimming in his size 6x shirts, and his 72-inch waist pants started falling off his waist.

Steve kept the belt he wore at his highest weight and punched new holes in it as he dropped the pounds.

These days, the couple is happy to simply blend in when they go to the mall.

From the time the couple changed their lifestyle, Steve has lost more than 320 pounds, and Melissa is down more than 100 pounds. They're proud of each other, and their confidence is at an all-time high.

"I always kid with her, 'How did that guy get that hot girl?'" Steve said.

"To go from people pointing and making faces and whispering to being hateful, to being mistaken for Howie Long ... He's extremely hot!" Melissa said of her husband.

Steve said he can't imagine going back to the overweight version of himself, and he's working to lose even more. His current weight is about 250 pounds, and he told Cooney it feels like "walking on air" when compared to his old weight.

"It's a terrifying thought," he said. "Just looking in the mirror and seeing the old me is motivation enough."

Redemption for Melissa comes in many forms, including a recent high school reunion.

"Nobody recognized me," she said with a smile.

Before:

After:

[BureaucratusMaximus]

I won't lie: pizza smells wonderful, so does bread, and on and on. But in my mind, it's just all connected with being grossly fat, feeling miserable, hating the sight of myself, and not being able to play with my boys.

A big Amen brother to that. I'd rather be skinny than have pizza.

[MarkL]

I glanced at south beach. At first, I wasn't going to go hardcore on any diet, I was just going to reduce carbs "informally." But it turned into a real atkins style approach---very very little carbs, high fat, unlimited calories. Granted I have shed a pound or two, but I need a breakthrough. I work out at the gym almost every day. I think if I could drop 10 pounds, I'd be in perfect condition. Maybe I will check out south beach as an alternative.

Actually, if you're on a low carb, high protien diet, and you work out regularly, you may very well NOT see much weight loss. Instead, keep an eye on your shape. High protien and lots of exercise will build muscle pretty quickly, so as you lose fat, you will add muscle, and muscle "weighs" more than fat. I know a guy who works out 4 times a week, and has stopped losing weight, but is still slimming down, and having to buy new pants.

Mark

[BibChr]

Oh my, that's rough. I'm sorry. What a wretched year!

)c8

Dan

[maggief]

It's been brutal ... thanks for your reply.

[Huck]

I have been doing mostly cardio--25-35 minutes a day, plus crunches (100-200) day, pushups (50-100 day). Not really muscle producing stuff, is it? My same old pants still fit.

[GulliverSwift]

Glancing through the headlines, I thought the article was titled "Couple Loses Hundreds of Pounds on Acid Diet."

I couldn't believe it...

[lsucat]

Can anyone recommend low-carb cookbooks that don't require hard-to-find ingredients? I don't have easy access to a health food store in my area.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Teacher317]

and the serious health issues of weighing 570 pounds?

[Centurion2000]

bump

[LittleRedRooster]

I've been up at 5AM every morning since April and walking at least 7 miles a day - every day. Now as I approach my target weight, the real battle begins - keeping it off!

Just keep walking, its such an easy exercise and many people can do it and it works wonders. Good luck.

[exile]

Tell me about it. I'm 5'8" and 190 lbs. I don't have the willpower for Atkins. However I think it's fantastic it worked out well for this couple.

[Mamzelle]

Try making your pizza on something other than bread--or roll that crust very thin. Tomato sauce, cheese, meat--all are on the good list. Red wine is not that high in carbs--. You might do as I do with apples--not every day, but a couple times a week.

Or, learn to like scotch.

[carton253]

Plus, any meat-intensive menu is going to raise your cholesterol level significantly.

I have been on Atkins since February. I have lost 50 pounds... and my cholesterol has dropped 20 points. I feel better than I ever have.

[SupplySider]

...funny thing is...having to exercise is not the issue...I want to!

I was amazed when this happened to me. I started out making myself huff and puff for fifteen minutes a day, now I love exercising and have to actually limit myself so I don't overdo.

[California74]

It's not so much the caffeine, but the aspartame. Try switching to diet rite and drink coffee or tea for the caffeine. And more water.

I know what you mean though - I am addicted to diet coke too. That aspartame will kill us.

By the way, I'm going to the Xena convention in Burbank Sat. Jan 31st!

[MarkL]

Breaking news: everyone who loses weight DIES!!!

Bring me pizza and beer!

< /parody >

Actually, I went off of the Atkins diet for a period of about 2 weeks, and I'm going back on it tomorrow. While I was off the diet, I did have pizza and beer... My favorite beer, Samual Smith's Taddy Porter! Yum! But, I guess it'll be back to Michelob Ultra once I'm over the induction phase.

Mark

[Mamzelle]

Start with your local supermarket--there's lots that's new on the shelves. I'll bet you can find Atkins Baking Mix.

When I started, I had to drive an hour to find locarb bread, frozen, that was kinda rubbery. Now it's as close as Walmart.

Atkins has a bestseller out--have you looked through those recipes?

Once you learn to cut out the obvious carbs, cooking's not so hard. More salad, less pasta. No rice--

[Huck]

I wonder if I am eating too much cheese for "induction". I have been eating bucketloads of cheese. My basic regimen last few weeks has been steak and eggs for breakfast (love that!), a meat salad for lunch ( little bit of greens, lots of meat and cheese), and when I get home, some pepperoni slices to snack on while I cook up two or three burgers, which I serve with mozz cheese and just a little bit of low carb tomato sauce. I do drink soda, but I drink a lot of water during the day.

OK, a couple of times I had a teeny handful of nuts. And I have only lost a couple of pounds in 2.5 weeks. I weighed in as low as 175.5 once, but it hopped back up to 177.

[Huck]

Exercise is a great habit to develop. It used to be a chore, now it is just a necessary and rewarding part of my day.

[Dubya]

Atkins is a great diet. I've been on it years and I am healthy.